More Than Nice
by FugitiveJuliana
Summary: Alec and Max sleep together but later they both seem to regret it.


**MORE THAN NICE**

Author: bluejulie

Pairing: Max/Alec

Genre: Angst, romance

Words: 4.300

Summary: Alec and Max sleep together but later they both seem to regret it.

"Hey, sleepyhead, is this what you wanted me to bring over?" OC said loudly into the quiet room.

Alec stirred on the bed and groaned. The covers slid down his back and OC gasped.

"What kind of a monster did you have a close encounter with?"

She walked to the bed, depositing the duffel bag by the door. As if modesty was not part of her vocabulary she bowed down and inspected Alec's back from up close. He had scratches and bruises all over the place.

"Ouch, that must've hurt," OC scrunched up her face.

He finally managed to pull the sheet up his torso and turn around to face her. "You have no idea," he said with a sleepy voice, blearily staring at her.

Still inspecting his wounds she suddenly looked at him with wide eyes. "Is that a hickey?"

He mumbled something when she lifted his chin to get a better view of his neck. "A woman did this to you?" she asked incredulous. "I hope it was worth it."

"Give it a rest, OC," he grumbled and sat up, swatting her hands away.

"Not worth it, I see," she commented undeterred. "Well, I hope, for your good, you'll realize someday it isn't worth risking your life for some free sex, boo," she shrugged and retreated to the door when he threw her a nasty look.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he said.

She rolled her eyes when she interpreted his words as just another one of his lewd remarks. "I brought you the things from your place. Hope everything's in there," she pointed to the duffel bag on the floor. "And don't go telling Max about me doing you a favor or she'll treat me like a traitor," she joked.

"Don't worry, I won't be speaking to her any time soon."

OC didn't know what to make of that, so she threw a 'toodles' over her shoulder and left.

Alec winced as he moved to get up. He made a mental note to never have sex with a hostile transgenic again. He wished he could at least shower and try to get rid of the rest of her smell, but water was scarce in TC and he had already showered last night.

Usually when it came to unrequited love it meant that when you had sex with the person in question, you at least had memories of it to alleviate your hurting. But he could barely remember anything pleasant from their lovemaking. Only her scratching, the slap to his face when he carelessly mentioned Logan, her bites and kicks. She was fighting like a cat that she was, not willing to admit that at least a part of her was enjoying it. Because he knew she enjoyed it, he could see it in the way her eyes rolled back in total abandon when she came in his arms, in the way she chanted something unintelligible as he was rocking above her. He wondered, whom was she really fighting, him or herself.

He cursed under breath. If she only hadn't shown up only in her robe, pouting, wanting a blanket because her room was cold and Joshua refused to give her his. Alec suspected it wasn't a blanket she wanted. What she wanted was a warm body, someone to keep her warm with love, to make her forget the world around her. He got his proof when her hand lingered on his as he handed her his last blanket. She waited for him to initiate things, and he did. She fought him off, then begged for more. When he kissed her harder, she pushed him so he fell to the floor. She crawled to him and tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, undressing him. When he caressed her hip under her robe, she hit him in the chest. A constant alternation of punches and caresses, of bites and kisses.

It left him sated and sore, more in love with her than ever, more hurting.

She took his blanket, leaving him with a single sheet to cover himself.

"Is today a sleep in day and I'm the only one that didn't know it?" OC complained when she saw Max was still in bed too.

Max covered her head with the pillow. "I don't want to get up," she grumbled underneath it.

"Did you catch a bug from Alec?" OC asked amused.

Max's head shot up and she stared wide-eyed at OC. "What?"

OC raised her hands in defense. "Hey, don't go biting my head off just yet. I have a message. Geez, what's up with you two … One tries to be nice to you and almost gets killed for it," she said annoyed.

"It's nothing. I'm sorry, just a bad day."

"It hasn't even started yet."

Max sat up and pulled a t-shirt over her head. "So, what's the message?"

OC sat on the edge of the bed. "I saw Logan. He says he'll stay around tonight if you want to. I guess he wants some bonding time with you," OC winked at Max. Surprisingly, the message didn't get her the response she was expecting. Instead, Max threw herself on the bed and whined like a spoiled child.

"What now? Starting a bit late with your teenage whims?"

"I'm not sure it's good I see him, that's all," Max finally replied.

"Why?"

"You know why. It's not like we have much chance of ever getting the cure for my virus. Thanks to Alec!" she said resentfully.

"Oh, come on, don't give me that. When I was here last week, the virus wasn't a problem at all. You were happily holding hands and smiling like newlyweds. Don't think me stupid, Max. And I thought you'd be over that fiasco with Alec by now."

"I'll never be over it," Max said petulantly.

"It's not like he had much choice. His head was gonna blow off if he …" She couldn't finish the sentence when Max interrupted her.

"I wish it did!"

After a pause, Cindy slowly said, "You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do," insisted Max and threw the covers to the floor. She got dressed and she started to comb her hair when OC looked at her incredulously.

The light in the room was dim, but she could still see the love marks on the side of Max's neck.

"Holy moly!" she exclaimed and Max jumped.

"What?"

"You have a love bite on your neck," she said, now extremely amused.

"No, I don't," Max let her hair fall around her face to disguise any traces of last night.

"Funny, I think you and … Alec, of all people, will be wearing turtle necks today," OC nearly laughed. This was too good to be true.

"Stop it!" Max hissed.

But OC was in a good mood and she wasn't afraid of Max. "I must say, you fared far better than he did. You should've seen the damage you left on his back. The poor guy is all bruised and scratched."

"And you know that how?" Max eyed her suspiciously.

"I went to his room to wake him up. Had a late night, I guess," she winked at Max but Max was too angry to joke with her.

"He deserved every bit of it," she spit out and turned away.

"Really?" OC asked quietly. "You know, I'm pretty sure the damage wasn't only physical," she added when Max didn't respond. She wanted to get some sort of a sign that Max wasn't as indifferent as she wanted everyone to think.

"That much better."

"You don't mean that, boo," OC said disappointed at her behavior and her reluctance to open her eyes.

They had a meeting at the HQ.

OC came last, not because she would be part of the team, but because she had nothing better to do while Max was at the meeting. As she passed Alec, who was sitting on a chair across from the desk, she slapped his back. She snickered when she saw how he winced.

"What's wrong? Feeling a bit tender?" she joked and Alec threw her a murderous look. She laughed back at him.

Max didn't react, she continued her speech as if nothing had happened.

"We need to find another safe way out of TC as soon as possible," Max said to the people in the room. "I suggest we check out the sewer."

"Not the sewer again," Alec grumbled.

"Have a better suggestion?" she asked irked. He remained silent. "I thought so."

"Any volunteers?" she searched the faces.

OC was standing in the back, observing the interaction between Max and Alec. Logan was absent, Joshua was leaning against the door, Mole standing next to him.

"I have to work on the camera network thingy Logan set up. We still need to connect a few cameras to it. Josh can help me with that," Mole said.

Max nodded and turned to Alec. "I guess that leaves you," she said sweetly.

Alec rolled his eyes. "Fine, leave the dirty work to me."

"Get someone to go down there with you," Max ordered like he was just a soldier.

"There's no one left," Alec said.

"There's plenty of gorgeous, long-legged X-5's in TC," Max said bitingly.

Alec opened his mouth to say something then changed his mind. After a pause, he explained, "Anyone who isn't accustomed to this kind of work will only get in the way."

"You can't go alone," Max said and made a step towards him till she realized what she was doing and she moved back behind the desk. OC stepped towards her.

Alec was half way to the door and he turned. "Why?"

"Because …" Max started lamely.

"Because I'm so stupid I'm bound to alert the Ordinaries to what we're doing?" he asked with a wry smile and a raised eyebrow.

"Is there even a slight chance that someday in the very remote future I could do something good enough for you to even consider thinking about trusting me?"

Not waiting for her reply, he shook his head and left through the door.

Josh was watching the scene uneasy. He didn't know what was going on and somehow he felt he didn't want to be in the middle of it, but he couldn't watch his friends fight either. Everything was just so whack these days.

Mole and Joshua left and Max noticed OC's stern stare.

"What now?"

"It wouldn't be that hard to tell him you don't want something bad happening to him, would it?" OC snapped.

"Harder than you think," Max whispered.

"What on earth is going on here?" OC asked exasperated. "This is beyond ridiculous! You're ready to bite anyone's head off just for speaking with you, Alec's moping around, making me itch with the desire to bite _his_ head off just so I wouldn't have to watch his sour face. Can't you two people talk?"

"It's nothing," Max said, trying to dissuade Cindy from posing more inquisitive questions.

"You can say that to me. How about Logan? And Alec? You think this can go on forever?"

"I know, I know," Max whined. "I need some time to think this over. It's all so confusing and painful."

"It doesn't have to be painful, boo," OC said and placed a hand on Max's shoulder. "Just don't lie to yourself and everything will be okay."

Max folded the maps on the table and then turned back to OC, slightly calmer. "Can you wait for a minute, I need to find Logan."

"What for?"

"To tell him that I'd like him to stay tonight," Max said over her shoulder as she exited the room.

"What?" OC yelled after her without receiving any response.

Alec cursed half way down the tunnels. He could wring her neck! God, she pissed him off! She was just about the most annoying person he'd ever met. She really knew how to push his buttons! Agh! He wanted to … re-live the previous night over and over again. He wanted to feel her move under him, taste the skin of her neck and breasts on his tongue, feel her hot skin on his. No matter the painful scratching and punching, just knowing what he could do to her with his fingers made him growl in the dark tunnel.

If only she wouldn't despise him so much. He felt he could fight hatred, that was a passionate, whitehot feeling, but her contempt was icily cold and he had no idea how to fight against that.

He heard a noise ahead of him and that woke him from his reverie. He carefully rounded a corner, but couldn't see anything in the stinky, dark tunnel. Water was trickling over the ground, wetting his shoes through and through.

"Gross," me muttered.

He inched forward, the sewer was always full of eerie, unknown noises. But certain sewer monsters were very good at being extremely quiet too. Alec learned that too late when something hit him on the head and he saw stars where there was no sky before he fell to the ground.

He awoke to a world of pain. At the slightest move of his head, pain shot behind his eyes and he gritted his teeth so he wouldn't groan aloud. Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes.

Where the heck was he? Confused, he looked around, seeing nothing. Everything was quiet and still and dark. He felt he was lying on moist ground and he was leaning against a wall. He wondered how long he had been out.

Something grumbled somewhere to his left. His heartbeat quickened. Who was there? Then something moved and he tried sitting up to get ready. For what? And how, when his hands were tied behind his back? Max was right, he thought sadly, he got himself in trouble again.

A beam of light hit him like a stab to the eyes. Now he could see even less. Mercifully the one behind the flashlight – his flashlight, he realized – moved to the side so that the light was still present, but not shining directly in his face. He saw he was lying on the ground in some sort of a cave that was separated from the rest of the sewer system with thick bars, there was a padlock on the door that was now half open. If he could reach it before the guy managed to react … He could hear the water in one of the tunnels.

"Who are you?" he asked, but got the answer in a form he didn't particularly like. He saw the thing holding the flashlight. That was the best he could call him – a thing. He had long hair, glued together with dirt. His face was disfigured so he couldn't even determine which species he resembled. He obviously didn't speak seeing how he only growled and mumbled in response. The rags that hung from him were dirtied with slime and other substances one could find in abundance in the sewer. What _was_ that?

"What are you going to do with me?" he demanded again without receiving a reply.

The creature neared him and when he saw the plank in his hand, his eyes widened with fear.

Pain exploded in his forehead and darkness enveloped him again as his body slumped to the ground.

When he again came to there was some sort of commotion in the vicinity. He blinked to adjust his eyes to the dim light of the vault. He saw shadows jostling around, then something flew by quite close to him. It was only then that he noticed the 'door' to his cage was open and that the thing that flew past him was the creature that locked him up in the first place. He didn't feel particularly sorry for him, but he winced when he saw it was Max who kicked him through the air so he landed in a heap on the floor. He thought for a second that being saved wasn't so great after all. "Great. I felt safer when the monster was around."

"Here you are," she said a bit breathless and turned to someone behind her. Mole stepped out of the darkness.

"Spare me the lecture," Alec said. "I've heard it so many times I know it by heart, so you can save your breath."

"What?" Max asked confused.

"Is he alive?" Mole asked behind her back. She crouched down to check his condition from up close. She lit his face and he groaned again as his headache became worse with the piercing light in his eyes.

"I'm fine," Alec grumbled and started to get up as she touched his forehead to inspect the wound.

"Ouch!" he winced as she pressed the swelling. "Can you be any less gentle?" he complained.

"Sorry," she murmured and actually looked apologetic.

"Untie my hands, will you," he turned to Mole.

Once his hands were free, he checked for the damage the plank had caused. He felt a trickle of coagulated blood.

"What time it is?" he asked just to say something in order to postpone Max's griping.

Mole eyed him confused then checked the time. "Ten in the morning, why?"

Alec turned from Mole to Max and back to Mole. "What do you mean? I came down here at nine. It definitely took me more than an hour to get here."

Now it was time for Mole and Max to exchange looks.

"Alec, you were down here one whole day," Max said, almost softly he thought if he didn't know better.

"What!" The cry was like another blow to his head.

"We better get going, this place doesn't seem too friendly," Mole suggested and pointed the way for Alec.

It took them half an hour to get out from underground. Max and Mole helped Alec climb out of the manhole because he was still feeling dizzy from the blows and weak from being unconscious for a day. He still couldn't understand how that had happened. He had thought he slipped in and of consciousness several times, but he couldn't be sure, because the only thing he actually registered was his massive headache.

"You alright?" Max asked, still holding his upper arm.

"Like you care," he said and shook her hand off.

"I do," she said quietly but stared blankly at him when he eyed her with suspicion.

They went to the HQ where Logan was already waiting for them. Just the guy he wanted to see, Alec sighed. The day was getting better and better. Actually, the whole week was one of his finest.

He collapsed on the chair he had left a day ago. He was tired, dirty as hell, hungry and angry, although he wasn't entirely sure why and at whom.

"What happened?" Logan asked as soon as they entered.

"There was something down there. It got Alec," Max explained. "Maybe it was another hybrid, but we didn't check because we were in a hurry."

"So it's still alive? Did it chase you out?"

"No, I think it was dead when we left it."

"Why were you in a hurry then?" Logan furrowed his brow.

Max looked at him surprised. "We were trying to get Alec out as soon as possible. He was down there for a whole day."

"Yeah, but …" Logan started. Mole grumbled something and exited the room.

"You should've checked. We need as much information as we can get. You know that, Max," Logan continued.

"Logan! Alec is lucky he's a transgenic. The blow to his head would kill him otherwise!" Max said in a high pitched voice.

"Oh, he has a thick enough skull!" Logan spat.

"You have no idea what he's been through. I just wanted to get him out asap to at least make sure he's alright."

"So you were willing to risk the safety of everyone at TC? For him?"

Max said something back, but Alec didn't hear her anymore.

"I'm going to bed," he mumbled and stood up, wobbly. Max and Logan, in the heat of a fight, didn't even notice that he was gone.

He dragged his heavy feet in the shower first, enjoying the simple pleasure of clean water on his skin. He felt renewed afterwards but he still craved sleep. So he fell into his bed without even getting something to eat first.

The bed in his new room could hardly be called a bed. It was so tiny he could barely stretch out in it. It wasn't very practical for any love encounters, but then again he hadn't been very active lately.

His mind crashed into wakefulness again as that thought crossed the barrier between sleep and alertness. Max! Two days ago! It all came back to him now. The aching in his head returned, so did the one in his heart. Fuck! How could he forget it! How could things have gone so wrong! This was really bad. Really bad. He'd have to do something about it. Talk to Max. Yeah, definitely. He would talk to …

Something moved next to him. Was he awake, was he dreaming? He still felt the remnants of a headache – he was obviously awake. He stretched his arm and he felt something. Someone? It was warm, soft, and dressed. He opened his eyes, still too tired to even lift his head up.

"Max!"

He sat up, the covers sliding down his back. "What are you doing?"

Max stopped moving, eyeing him cautiously.

"Well?"

She didn't know what to say, how to explain why she was crawling into his bed. She put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"Shhh!"

"Don't shhhh me! Who do you think you are, coming here and getting into my bed? My bed!"

"Alec …"

"When can I expect you to start hitting me?" he asked angrily.

"I won't."

"You all say that," he snorted and tried to push her out of the bed. "I'm still too tired for all this drama of yours. Leave me alone, so I can get some sleep. Shoo!"

"I don't want drama either," Max whispered.

"You _are_ drama," he retorted.

"Can I stay, please?" she asked, coming as close to begging as she ever would.

"Stay? In my bed? More precisely, in bed with me?" he repeated horrified.

"I promise to be good," she said with an amused smile, but then she turned serious. "And I promise not to scratch you. Too badly. And afterwards I won't say it was stupid. And I won't leave you."

Alec felt a wrenching pain in his gut. This brought back much too vivid memories. Being called stupid when you mess up a mission was one thing. Being called stupid when you give all you have to the woman you love … well, let just say that's quite another. "Is this some kinda joke?" He looked around as if expecting to find OC hidden somewhere laughing her head off.

"No. I swear," Max raised her right hand.

"So … why?" He shook his head to clear his mind and regretted it the second the pain resonated through his head again.

"I … did some thinking. Actually, OC forced me to think. And I came up with some startling discoveries," Max admitted and lowered her eyes to the covers so she wouldn't have to face Alec's scorn.

"Like what?" he asked quietly.

"Like that the last time I was in this bed I didn't find it as disagreeable as I made it look. It wasn't so much about me not enjoying it as it was about me preventing myself to enjoy it."

"I probably have a severe concussion from all the blows lately. Could you be clearer?"

"The other night … it was one of the best things that's happened to me lately. It was so powerful I couldn't stop thinking about it. When you didn't come back from the sewers, I got so scared. I don't know which was worse, thinking that you left me after all the crap I'd given you or that something terrible has happened to you."

"You did?"

"I didn't want to see it. I couldn't. It was too hard to face all this confusion and the complications with Logan and all that. And OC …"

"OC was more convincing than my lovemaking?" Alec asked with false indignation.

"Come on, I'm trying to be serious and deep here," she swatted his arm.

"What exactly is it that you didn't want to see but do now?" he asked seriously.

"I see now how this had to happen. I just wish it happened differently, with less pain for everyone involved."

"This?" He wanted to hear the words. He needed to hear them, but she was so unwilling to open up to him. With their history, he could in a way understand that.

Slightly annoyed, she gestured between them. "Us! You and me having sex, talking like normal human beings, being nice to each other, more than nice."

He grinned at her awkwardness.

"I particularly like that 'more than nice' part."

She observed him sternly, trying to determine whether he wasn't only making fun of her.

"Yeah, me too," she finally admitted softly.

"You do?"

"Yeah," she whispered and her hand caressed his cheek almost instinctively, like to make sure he was still warm and alive.

Alec didn't know what to say.

"So can I stay, please?" She raised her eyes to his.

"If you'll let me sleep for a while longer," he said and smiled.

"Sure," she promised with a grin. Alec lay back down and pulled the covers up to his neck. Max scrambled between the sheets and pressed her body into his warm side. He was naked and his skin felt so good.

"Good to know all that scratching and biting wasn't because of my lousy performance," he mumbled into the pillow.

She laughed, but he didn't hear her. He was already asleep.


End file.
